Laser eye surgery is performed using topical anaesthetic. There is no need for a general anaesthetic as the topical drops themselves are sufficient to basically completely anaesthetize the cornea and that is the area where all the treatment is being done. On top of that the patient actually needs to be awake, they need to be alert so that they can respond to the surgeon’s commands and in a sense look in the right direction toward certain target points which will facilitate their treatment and make it more reliable.
